# How to exit full screen on a Mac Source: https://ribbonformac.com/exit-full-screen-mac Updated: 2026-10-29 Press ⌃⌘F (or FnF on recent keyboards). With the mouse, move the pointer to the very top of the screen so the menu bar slides down, then click the green button at the top left of the window, or choose View → Exit Full Screen. Videos in a browser usually leave full screen with Esc. ## Three ways out 1. **Keyboard:** ⌃⌘F toggles full screen in most apps. On keyboards with a Globe key, FnF does the same. 2. **Green button:** push the pointer to the top edge. The menu bar and the window's title bar slide into view; click the green button. 3. **Menu:** with the menu bar showing, choose **View → Exit Full Screen** (some apps put it under **Window**). In browsers, a video playing full screen is different from the browser window being full screen. Esc leaves the video's full screen; ⌃⌘F leaves the window's. ## An app stuck in full screen - **The menu bar won't appear:** move the pointer firmly to the top edge and wait a moment. If you're using a second display, make sure the pointer is on the right screen. - **The app has frozen:** press ⌘⌥Esc, pick the app and click **Force Quit**. - **A game or video app ignores the shortcut:** it handles full screen itself. Look for a display or window mode option in its own settings, or press Esc. - **You can't find your other windows:** they're on your normal desktop. Swipe left or right with three or four fingers, or press ⌃←, to get back to it. The full-screen app stays in its own Space until you exit. ## Stop an app opening in full screen Most apps reopen the way you left them. Exit full screen, then quit the app with ⌘Q while it's windowed; it reopens windowed. If you click the green button by habit when you want a big window, use **Fill** instead (Fn⌃F on macOS 15 and later); see [maximize a window without full screen](https://ribbonformac.com/maximize-window-mac-without-full-screen). ## Keep the menu bar visible in full screen By default the menu bar hides in full screen. The setting that changes this has moved between macOS versions; open System Settings and search for **menu bar** to find the option for showing it in full screen. ## Why full screen gets in the way Full screen puts each app in a Space of its own. That's great for a film or a long writing session, and awkward the rest of the time: you can't see a second window beside it (except with Split View), and every switch is a sideways slide. If you use full screen mainly to give a window the whole width, a scrolling window manager gets you that without the separate Space. In [Ribbon](https://ribbonformac.com/), ⌃⌥F makes a window full width on your normal desktop, with the menu bar and Dock where they were, and your other windows wait as columns beside it. ⌃⌥R shrinks it back through the preset widths. [Try it in the live demo](https://ribbonformac.com/#demo); [pricing](https://ribbonformac.com/#pricing) is $9.99 once. ## FAQ ### What's the shortcut to exit full screen on a Mac? ⌃⌘F, or FnF on keyboards with a Globe key. Esc works for full-screen video. ### Why can't I see the green button in full screen? It's hidden with the title bar. Move the pointer to the top of the screen and the title bar slides down with it. ### How do I make full screen not hide the menu bar? Search System Settings for "menu bar" and change the option for full screen. ## Keep reading - [Maximize without full screen](https://ribbonformac.com/maximize-window-mac-without-full-screen) — Fill, Option-click the green button, double-click the title bar, and shortcuts. - [Split View not working](https://ribbonformac.com/split-view-not-working-mac) — The Spaces setting, apps that can't split, the menu names by version, and alternatives. - [Multiple desktops (Spaces)](https://ribbonformac.com/mac-virtual-desktops-spaces) — Create, switch and remove Spaces, the shortcuts to turn on, and the settings that keep them in order. - [Focus on one window](https://ribbonformac.com/focus-on-one-window-mac) — Hide others, full screen, Focus modes, and a centred column with the rest nearby. - [Window keyboard shortcuts](https://ribbonformac.com/mac-window-keyboard-shortcuts) — Switching, hiding, closing, full screen, desktops and tiling, in one table.